North America

In 1897, WCS carried out the first survey of Alaskan wildlife, which led to the passage of laws to regulate hunting. Eight years later, the society helped save bison from extinction, by restocking the Western Plains with animals bred at the Bronx Zoo. Since these beginnings, we have dedicated more than a century of North American conservation initiatives. From the fertile tundras of Arctic Alaska, which draw millions of migratory birds each year; to the greater Yellowstone Rockies, home to herds of bison, pronghorn, and elk; to Adirondack State Park, the largest intact temperate forest in the world, we work across North America’s key landscapes to ensure the future of our precious natural heritage.

Featured Landscapes

The Adirondack Landscape spans six million miles, shelters moose and bear, and is an important breeding ground for birds. The Adirondack Park also provides millions of Americans and Canadians with access to wilderness.

Grassland birds, bison herds, and burrowing prairie dogs are the wild icons of the Great Plains. Today, however, grasslands are the most endangered ecosystem in North America, with cattle ranches and crop fields dominating the landscape.